Teaching BSW Students Effective Practice With Returning Military Personnel: A Strengths-Based Resiliency Framework

Military social work as a field of practice is growing to meet the educational mandate to adequately prepare social workers to provide an array of services to service personnel and their families. A theoretical orientation that honors the intersection of the warrior ethos, resiliency and protective factors, and social work ecological and strengths perspectives is presented. A case vignette is provided to illustrate the approach. The intent is to provide undergraduate social work students and educators with grounding in a resiliency-oriented framework useful in assessment and practice with military service personnel to facilitate healthy coping and adaptation to civilian life.